Historical Focus on Race

Eleanor Holmes Norton

An activist for civil rights causes, Eleanor Holmes Norton has served in the U.S. House of Representatives for the District of Columbia since 1990 and is an advocate for statehood, gender equality, human rights, and justice.

Date of Interview:

Monday, October 17, 2005

Congressional Recording Studio, Washington, D.C.

Born in Washington, D.C., Eleanor Holmes Norton now serves the District of Columbia as a non-voting delegate in the House of Representatives, a position she has held since 1990. She is an indefatigable fighter for civil rights, universal human rights, and constitutional principles.

Educated at Antioch College in Ohio and at Yale University, Norton holds advanced degrees in both American Studies and law. Since then, Norton has received more than fifty honorary degrees. She has co-authored a legal textbook on sex discrimination and the law as well as an autobiography, Fire in my Soul: Eleanor Holmes Norton, which was released in 2004.

In addition to her authorship and her work on Capitol Hill, Norton continues to hold a tenured professorship of law at Georgetown University. During the 1960s, Norton served as the assistant legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), as executive assistant to Mayor Lindsay in New York, and, under President Jimmy Carter, as the first woman to chair the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. She continues to be an advocate for statehood for the District of Columbia and for full voting rights for DC residents. Norton is devoted to civil rights causes and to equality for all Americans.

In her position as Congresswoman for the District of Columbia, Norton has played a significant role in the development of the US Department of Homeland Security Headquarters.